LMS Administration

8th grader’s hands holding their printed initials. This was 1st semesters culminating activity where the students used Tinkercad to calculate and design their 1st initial then print using the 3d printer.

8th grader’s hands holding their printed initials. This was 1st semesters culminating activity where the students used Tinkercad to calculate and design their 1st initial then print using the 3d printer.

Mayor and Council recognizes Superintendent Megargee at Council meeting for Bergen County Superintendent of the Year award.

We have set graduation:

ACS Grade FiveFriday, June 22nd at 10:00 am LHS gymnasium

Leonia High SchoolThursday, June 21st at 6:00pmLHS gymnasium

Dinner and a Show! Thursday, April 12

Dear LMS Parent Community,

Please join us for LMS Dinner and a Show! On Thursday April 12th the LMS Home & School will be hosting our annual International Potluck Dinner. This fun family event showcases delicious traditional meals contributed by our diverse LMS parent community. The LMS Jazz Band will entertain diners with their ensembles. Dinner opens at 6:30pm in the LMS Cafeteria. Then stick around for this year’s Drama Club performance of, Sherlock Holmes’ Baker Street Irregulars. Curtain goes up at 7:30pm in the LMS Gym.

In order to make this a successful event please consider signing up to bring a dish and showcase your cultural culinary cuisine. It’s a fun way to meet other parents and share a great event with fellow LMS families from the Edgewater and Leonia communities. If you would like to contribute a dish, please click the link below to access the sigh-up genius. www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4fa9a72fa4fd0-lmsinternational Thank you. Mrs. Davis and I will see you there!

I also want to take this opportunity to let you know that PARCC testing at LMS will begin on Monday, April 23. The testing window for 6th and 7th graders will be from April 23-April 26. Our 8th graders will take the PARCC test from April 30-May 3. Any necessary make-up testing will be scheduled as needed, and will take place during the testing window, and may extend into the week of May 7. If you have any questions about this year’s PARCC administration, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Davis.

Best,Dave Saco

Rutgers SCREAM Theater

This year Leonia Middle School has brought the Rutgers SCREAM Theater Troupe to lead ‘Words Matter’ workshops with our students. SCREAM stands for Students Challenging Realities Educating Against Myths. During each workshop the troupe conducts small group discussion with students around topics such as racism, gender equality, sexual orientation, positive relationships, bullying, and social media safety. The actors then present a skit portraying situations that students will need to be able to navigate. Students respond by directing the actors through an appropriate resolution to the presented conflict.

Letter From the Superintendent

March 23, 2018

Dear Parents, Guardians and Students:

This winter has provided us with some challenging nor’easter storms to maneuver through, and I am concerned that early April (maybe Sunday night) may bring us some surprises, as well. Wednesday’s closure brought us once again over our allotted number of snow days. The Board had relieved us of our prior overdrawn day by reducing both our student schedule and our contractual obligations. This time, we need to be creative in making up our day.

There were options to meet this make-up day, including taking a day back from spring break (vacations and trips are already planned/paid for families and staff), extending the calendar into the last week of June (concerns for college orientation and students going to camp, summer school, summer employment, extended school year programs), a final adjustment of the calendar by the Board leaving no room for any unforeseen need, and/or the possibility of a single session on Good Friday. After discussion with the Principals of all buildings, the President of the LEA, and our Board of Education, we have decided to open school on Friday, March 30th (Good Friday) for a single session day (which will count as a full-day). Our obligation to make-up Wednesday’s snow day will be fulfilled.

We understand that this change in calendar may affect religious observances, travel plans for the holiday weekend, and child care. We appreciate your cooperation and patience as we move through an unusual winter of weather.

NJ Schools to Watch

Leonia Middle School has been named a School to Watch by the New Jersey Schools to Watch Committee. Schools to Watch is an initiative launched by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform in 1999. Through state level Schools to Watch initiatives, the National Forum identifies schools across the United States that are well on their way to meeting the Forum's criteria for high performance.

The Forum contends that three things are true of high-performing middle-grades schools:

They are academically excellent— schools challenge all students to use their minds well.

They are developmentally responsive— schools are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence.

They are socially equitable— schools are democratic and fair, providing every student with high-quality teachers, resources, and supports.

To achieve this national recognition, Leonia Middle School has demonstrated established norms, structures, and organizational arrangements to support and sustain the trajectory of the school toward excellence. LMS will join recognized schools and will be featured in state and national publications, and will be visited by educators from anywhere in the country. Schools to Watch also participate in professional development and serve as a model for other schools using the Schools to Watch Criteria to guide school improvement and reform.

The recognition is a byproduct of systemic change that began three years ago, as a result of the middle school faculty taking part in a very honest and introspective self-study. The self-study revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the school’s structures as seen by the faculty. Confronting the data and brainstorming on how to make the school a better place is an ongoing process. Each year the staff reevaluates the school by undergoing the self-study and implementing recommendations.

This year the LMS faculty’s self-study scored high enough in each area for the school’s leadership team to decide to submit an application. The application was accepted and approved for a site visit by the NJ School to Watch Site visit team.

A team of five people, which included other Schools to Watch administrators, teachers, and university partners, visited LMS for a day. During the day the visitation team met with teachers, students, and parents to evaluate the school’s structures and practices.

In March of 2014, Dr. Nicholas Bernice, LMS Principal, attended the New Jersey Association for Middle Level Education conference to formally accept the School to Watch award. He also attended the National Conference in Washington, DC in June 2014 where LMS and Carl H. Kumpf Middle School in Clark, NJ were both recognized as awardees for New Jersey. In September, NJ State Chairpersons Dr. Gail Hillard-Nelson and Mr. Frank Corrado visited LMS and awarded the school its Schools to Watch banner to all of the LMS faculty and students.